Submitting your vote... Letters : 10374 Words : 1960
It may feel abrupt as an ending, but the truth is, we ate dinner around the barbecue again, as the rain had stopped long enough for it. This time, with some of the food we had brought but didn't eat, but grilled by Peter and my father.
We had chicken breasts, which were grilled and then cut into strips and put into a salad, along with more hot dogs.
A few cobs of corn were grilled too. I am more of a fan of boiled ones, but I tasted one. Fortunately, they were cut in half, so I forced myself to finish it and then stopped on that.
I ate less, I had eaten a lot the previous day.
Even today, I don't take the same number of calories per day.
After lunch, my parents whispered that they had both prescriptions safely in the car, and I decided to hang out just with Mindy, since Lucy and Carter had other plans.
I am certain that they want other objectives than to hang out with two 12-year-olds.
"So...", says Mindy. "It's my birthday next week and I want you to come"
"Sure, if I can. When is the party?"
"Oh, not a party. I mean, my friends are mostly non-naturist and well, I didn't feel like partying with them."
"So just you and me?", I said
"Well, I did invite Lucy and Carter, sorry, you were talking to your parents, but it's you I want the most to come, you know?"
"I do", but I did like them.
"They might come. They did say they often arrive late on Fridays, so they will go to the pinball machine. We can join them if we went"
"I'd like that. I had a ton of fun yesterday"
"Me too."
We set up a plan, and we talked for a while about school, about naturism, and we laughed. We searched for the history of naturism in her magazines and books, and when we saw pictures about the FKK and the first naturist resorts in the USA.
Of course, we wondered when seeing old pictures in black and white if one of Carter's ancestors were in the pictures, but most had no names in them, and we had no idea what they looked like.
It felt weird to think that generation after generation, you can trace naturism in your family. I was a 3rd generation, officially, so if I raise kids into naturism, they would be 4th generation. Not bad!
"Of course, I want my kids to be naturists like me, but I won't be scared of kindergarten", says Mindy, confident.
When my parents picked me up, they had packed the cabin, and my father had dressed back up, but my mom was still nude. I guess she wanted one more ride in the car nude.
We got dressed by the car, near the lobby, while my father closed the rental and soon enough, we left the resort to return to the textile world.
"I am thinking drive in for supper", says my dad
"Can we get a pizza?", I ask
"Sure, sugar", my father replies, and I notice that my mother puts her hand on my father's thigh. That, also, is a move I am stealing for my future relationships. It's simple, it's affectionate and it shows your partner that you love them.
We stopped at Domino's, and while my father went to the store to grab pizza, my mother turned to me.
"Had fun?"
"A ton. I can't wait for Mindy's birthday party"
"Remember, we won't be spending the weekend, we'll go to the non-landed club Saturday evening"
"Can we leave from there?", I ask
"We can't afford to rent a cabin every weekend, you know?"
"Oh. I understand"
I think.
"What if I sleep over Friday evening, and you pick me up when you need to?"
My mother smiles.
"That's a good compromise."
After a pause, I ask my mother.
"Mom, why aren't we living at the resort?"
"It's a good thing we aren't, since we stopped"
"Yeah, but didn't you admit it was a mistake?", I say, a little confident
"Kiddo, real estate is complicated. The town is in an economic decline and we couldn't get as much as we would like if we sell our house. Plus, if we even move out of town, it's easier to sell than one at the resort"
I think about it.
Of course, it's a very good thing we didn't move, but I didn't know that at the time.
My mother interrupts my thoughts.
"Listen, the low season starts soon, and it's going to be too cold to be nude outside in a few months. What do you say we cut a little on restaurants, on activities and superfluous things to perhaps spend more time next summer?"
"I'd like that", I say.
"Me too."
"We could also get a cheaper cabin", offered my mom
"What's the difference?"
"No kitchen, which we barely used anyway, no indoor shower, and you sleep in a small bed that slides under ours."
"I don't think I would mind. I might have more sleepovers anyway"
"I'll talk to your dad. We'll budget something"
"Could I sometimes help with your company, perhaps save some money?", I ask
My mom laughs.
"Wow, you really want this. We don't really have employees, so it wouldn't actually save money, but you would help with some slow tasks we could do in the evening with you, allowing us more time to negotiate contracts"
While we waited, it resumed raining a little.
"Sweet", I say
My father came back with the two medium pizzas and we made it home.
Pizza sat on the table while we brought back stuff from the car.
Even if we took over 20 minutes to stow everything properly, the pizza was still hot enough.
We did eat with our clothes on, but spent the evening nude.
Contrary to my expectations, the talk with my father about the cabin downgrade occurred with me! I was included in the discussion.
We were in the living room sitting on towels, my parents cuddling a little. Nothing serious.
"I already inquired, they don't offer weekend rentals of cabins, and we can't afford one full time for next summer, but I might have a plan", he says
"Really?", my mother says.
My father often has out of the box solutions.
"Well, a camping ground for the whole summer is about the rental cost for 4 weekends of cabins, if reserved before October and we don't insist on a location"
"We still need a place to sleep, Steven", says my mother, with a harsh tone
"I might, and I insist on the word might, have a lead on a camper", he proposed.
"You, might have a lead", says my mom, skeptical
"Remember Henri Granger?"
"That jerk? How can I forget him? He owed us like 25k when he declared bankruptcy"
"I know, well, he's been trying to free himself from the bankruptcy before it's finalized"
"What does that mean?", I ask
"Kiddo, when you can't pay your debt, to call chapter 11, which means people can't seize your stuff to pay themselves. Like, we can't go to his house and seize his car to sell it to repay what we owes us"
"Isn't that unfair?"
My dad explains. "It gives him time to negotiate with all of his debtors, without worrying that one of them will be more aggressive. If he gets them all off his back, he is saved from the bankruptcy, but if he doesn't, well, all of his possessions are sold off and we get pennies on the dollar"
"We might get 2 thousand of the 25 he owes us", my mother says.
"His biggest debtor is the bank. He has a loan, and they are fine with floating it. Basically, they want him to pay it in full, but over a longer time", my dad explains
"They have the means to wait, and prefer that over getting only a portion back. Plus, he still makes some money, just, not enough to pay past suppliers", my mom adds.
"And we do have a priority as a supplier over a few of the debtors. If we negotiate an agreement, he might get out of it, like he did with his employees", my dad says
"He got them new jobs, and paid out of pocket their last paycheck, which made us and the bank furious. They got everything, and we still got nothing", my mother days.
"Everyone should be getting a percentage, not them 100% and us nothing, you know?", says my dad.
"I get it", I said.
"One of his assets is a camper he uses for fishing. Buying one like it is maybe 18 thousand. The bank doesn't want it, and if sold at auction, it might fetch 6 to 12k. But he paid it cash, unlike his car, so he could in theory, give it to us to lift the bankruptcy"
"How is the trailer?", she asks
"In good shape, but filthy. Shower head is broken, but easy to fix. He sold the microwave but it's cheap to replace. The fridge is still there. It's not in perfect shape, but it would do. Oh, and there is a bed, and the table can be lowered for a second one"
"Add one thousand in cash and I am in, provided it is what he says it is" says my mother
"Wait, but you still lose money?", I say
"We already considered his money lost.", says my dad, to me, and then to my mother:
"I'll call him, we'll go the three of us, to make sure"
"And Peterson?", my mother asks
"He found a new tenant. A print shop. He was mostly worried about the rest of the lease."
"With how much we pay him, remind him our lease is up for renewal in two months and we might move our stuff to our other warehouses", says my Mother, with a strict done.
"Who's Peterson?", I ask
"Henri has a shop in the same building as one of our warehouses. This allowed us to deliver by forklift directly to him, you know, you can't use a forklift in the streets, but it was the same parking lot", my dad explains.
"Peterson is the guy who owns that building", my mom clarified.
"Yes, and when Henri filed for chapter 11, he stopped payment and Peterson asked for the rest of the 4-year lease in the bankruptcy filing"
"But now that he has a new tenant"
"It's like only 3 months for the small shop compared to the rent on our warehouse. I think we have a shot", says my mom.
"There is just one thing...", my father says
"Oh God, there is a catch, isn't it?", mother says. "It's ugly? It's old?"
"Oh, no. Well, it's not new, but we will be able to camp in it next summer without much issues"
"So what's wrong?"
"It's filthy. Like, seriously. We'll need to wash it inside out", my father says
"Can't we just pay for it?", she says
"Wait until you see it, you'll see why I didn't propose it to you"
"It is a case of cleaning it nude or our clothes will be filthy?", my mother ask
"No, it's a case of washing it with full hazmat suit or we will puke", my dad replies
My mother pulls back. "Seriously?"
"I almost vomited when he opened the door."
"So, it's a matter of looking past that and hoping it can be better?" my mother says
"Yep"
Still, my father called Henri who was very excited at the prospect of settling the debt, and he proposed to bring it to the warehouse the next day. The $1000 cash would be after the liberation of chapter 11.